Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

"Don't you have any friends? Why are you always coming to me?" Effie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fidelia's eyes flickered with a hint of mischief. "I just like hanging out with you. Problem?"

Effie just rolled her eyes. Still, she tugged Shirley along to keep Fidelia company on her shopping spree.

As they wandered through the mall, Fidelia suddenly spotted a display of mystery boxes and immediately dragged Effie over.

"Guess which box has the one I want," Fidelia challenged, her eyes dancing.

Truth was, Fidelia had already decided which figure she wanted from the series before she even walked in.

Effie pointed toward the counter. "They've got the whole set up there already-just twenty bucks extra. Why not just buy the one you want?"

Fidelia shot Effie a look, half exasperated, half amused. “Because opening a mystery box is a whole different experience. If I get it myself, it'll make me so much happier."

Shirley nodded in agreement. "I get that. It's about the thrill."noveldrama

Fidelia turned to Effie, curious. "Hey, seriously-are you really just in your twenties? How come you don't get the appeal of these things?"

Effie shrugged. "It's not that I'm not interested. Maybe I just haven't felt the thrill yet."

She thought to herself, When would I ever have had the spare cash or time for this kind of thing? But she kept that to herself.

Fidelia didn't hesitate; she grabbed Effie and bought the entire set of mystery boxes.

"Come on, let's open them together!" Fidelia grinned at Effie.

Shirley watched with envy. Of course, she thought, only someone as loaded as Fidelia would buy the whole set without a second thought.

Effie smirked. "That's how capitalism works-people like you are just waiting to be taken advantage of."

Fidelia huffed, clearly annoyed, and shot Effie a glare. "Effie, if you can't say anything nice, maybe just don't say anything at all."

Effie grinned, unfazed. "No way. My mouth, my rules. If you don't like it, you don't have to hang out with me."

Fidelia snorted. "Your words are poisonous-if my brother ever kissed you, he'd probably drop dead."

A faint blush crept up Effie's cheeks. "You're such a kid..."

"I'm eighteen, thank you very much. Legally an adult," Fidelia shot back, chin lifted.

Effie couldn't help thinking that Fidelia acted childish—and, honestly, she was. She never let anything go, always waiting for a chance to get back at her.

Just then, Effie heard a familiar voice. She turned and saw Suzan Bagnold strolling into the shop, hand-in-hand with a little girl.

The girl immediately took a liking to the same mystery box series.

Suzan, ever generous, was ready to buy the whole collection for her.

But the little girl's eyes turned cold, her tone dripping with disdain. "SO generous, but it's not even your ey-it's just my dad's card you're using."

The words barely left her mouth before everyone nearby started glancing at

Suzan, suspicion in their eyes.

With the girl's contemptuous tone, it was easy for people to assume Suzan was being kept by the girl's father.

Suzan realized the

misunderstanding right away and quickly tried to clarify. "Teresa, your dad's my uncle. He just likes to spoil me, that's all. But honestly, I could buy these myself. I just wanted to give you a treat."

Teresa Harper, dropping her usual sweet act she put on for Lionel Harper didn't give Suzan an inch. "If you don't care about it, then don't use my dad's credit card."

Suzan's smile faltered, awkwardness coloring her cheeks.